HYDERABAD: A six-figure salary in the US, a 6,000 sq ft condo and a hot-off-the-charts Tesla. While these were enough to list 36-year-old Raj Jagirdar as a ‘blue chip' stock in the Telugu matrimony market until a few years ago, he isn't a big deal anymore – thanks to the rising rate of job cuts across the US.
But the real black mark on Raj's wedding biodata isn't recession. It's his empty land bank, back home in Hyderabad.
In fact, STOI's conversations with multiple grooms-to-be living across the US, Canada, UK, Australia revealed that many young men are sailing in the same boat. With no immovable assets to their name in either of the two Telugu states, these young professionals are struggling to keep their ‘eligible bachelor' tag alive. And this, despite their fat pay cheques, swank hot wheels and upgraded lifestyles on foreign shores.
On the marriage market for long
"Who would have thought finding a partner would be this hard? I have a master's in data science from a top university in Australia and a job with a tech giant. But because my parents came from poor financial backgrounds, we could never buy farmland or properties. They had a small plot of land we had in our village in Vikarabad district – about 75 km from Hyderabad -- to pay for my education eight years ago," said K Abhishek Adhiraj, who lives in Brisbane. His father ran a small kirana shop while his mother has always been a homemaker.
Though the 34-year-old is confident of building his own assets over time, the absence of generational wealth has put him on the list of rejects for now. "We are planning to buy property around Hyderabad now because that seems like the only way to find an alliance," said Abishek who's been on the marriage market for six years now.
Raj's unsuccessful run has been equally long. "What's the point of owning assets in India when I see my future here in the US? Even my parents plan to move here eventually. This demand, I feel, is not only unreasonable, but also affects the self-esteem of a person. Despite all my hard work to build a comfortable life, it's just not enough," lamented Raj who has been living in Atlanta for over 10 years. He has been rejected on multiple occasions for not having a house or land to his name in India.
NRI status not enough
Marriage bureaus in Hyderabad confirm this churn in the market. According to them, families of potential brides now – more than ever before -- insist on knowing the prospective groom's assets upfront. "The NRI status alone doesn't cut it anymore. They expect land and other assets. So much so that we have now introduced a separate section in our forms for the groom's family to list their holdings. This focus on assets has also caused a drop in demand for NRIs. While we used to arrange about 18 to 20 matches a month a decade ago, now it's down to 10 or 12," said a representative from a private Telugu marriage bureau in Ameerpet.
Lack of job security turns the tide
Prospective brides-to-be and their families are rather nonchalant about this new trend.
"We all know how volatile the job market is in the US and Canada. It's not about being obsessed with assets, but the security they provide. Even if everything else falls apart, we can fall back on these possessions. I've been in Canada for three years myself and have firsthand experience of the struggles," said V Jyothi Reddy, a 27-year-old chef from Vancouver who completed her master's in supply chain management and has been looking for a job for almost two years now. With her family back in Nalgonda on a groom-hunting-spree, Jyothi's list of demands from her ‘match' includes -- at least 10 acres of land, own house both in India and abroad and a stable job with a minimum of a five-figure salary.
Green Card – only other qualification
Turns out, there's only one trump card that can beat the boy's low asset score – permanent resident (PR) card or a green card.
Speaking from experience, N Abhishek Vishwanath, a convenience store owner living in Tampa, Florida said: "My parents have been told outright that if there are no assets, at least I should have a green card. In fact, on all these matrimonial websites and WhatsApp groups, people make this clear in their search: ‘Looking for a partner with a Green Card only.' Does this mean those without assets and a green card, are not allowed to marry," asked the 28-year-old – echoing the sentiment of many such NRI bachelors ‘listed' on the wedding market.
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